Something So Strong
by FleurHartz
Summary: **UPDATED** Harry knows Ron and Hermione's relationship has changed, but they're not talking. But one stormy night at dinner, the truth comes out about what's REALLY going on between Ron and Hermione.
1. Stormy Nights

Harry swung open the portrait to the Gryffindor Common Room, and froze. He heard two familiar voices. Two familiar voices doing what they usually did-yelling at the top of their lungs. Harry sighed, deciding to wait until either Ron or Hermione stormed off. He had found interrupting their fights often proved cataclysmic. Best to let them get it out of their systems. Harry just stood there silently, hoping this would be a short one.  
  
  
  
"Ron, what do you want me to say? I don't even know what you're so hacked off about!" Hermione shouted, slamming her book down on the desk in frustration.  
  
  
  
"Yes, you bloody do, Hermione! Don't pull that crap with me! You know exactly what this is about!" Ron's voice was pitched in a dangerous, angry tone that Harry suddenly realized he had never heard before.  
  
  
  
"No, I don't! Please tell me why you're angry. Please." Hermione's voice cracked on the last word, and Harry saw that her eyes were glistening with tears.  
  
  
  
Harry blinked in surprise. This must have been a bad one. Ron's expression didn't soften at all however at her fading anger.  
  
  
  
"No, I'm not telling you anything! I'm so sick of you being so pretentious about how bloody smart you are and you can't even figure out why I'm angry! You honestly don't have any idea what makes me so upset when you agree to go out with someone else? Think real hard, Hermione!"  
  
  
  
Hermione fell silent, her mouth falling open with surprise.  
  
  
  
"Ron…are you trying to tell me--"  
  
  
  
Before she could finish that sentence, Ron had grabbed her forcefully by the arms, crushing his lips to hers with an almost bruising intensity. Harry felt his knees buckle with surprise. He had said the expression "couldn't believe his eyes" before, but now he honestly could not believe that his eyes were actually seeing what they were seeing. Ron was kissing Hermione. And after a moment of shocked hesitation, Hermione was kissing Ron back.  
  
  
  
Harry felt suddenly very awkward. He felt like he should say something so at least they'd know they had an audience. But he didn't want to ruin what was obviously a first kiss for his two best friends. Before he could make a decision, Ginny suddenly raced up behind him, saying, "Hey, Harr-"  
  
  
  
She didn't finish her greeting when she saw Ron and Hermione. Her face paled with shock, and then broke into a wide smile.  
  
  
  
Ron and Hermione didn't seem to hear her however. Harry and Ginny stood there for a moment, both unsure of what to do.  
  
  
  
"How long has this been going on?" Ginny whispered.  
  
  
  
"About two minutes." Harry shrugged.  
  
  
  
"No, I meant, THEM. How long have they been together?" Ginny asked, laughing.  
  
  
  
"I didn't even know for sure they liked each other until just a minute ago."  
  
  
  
"Well, I think it's safe to say they do." Ginny looked at her brother and Hermione with a raised eyebrow.  
  
  
  
Harry laughed, and it came out a little louder than he meant it to. Ron and Hermione jumped away from each other like something had shocked them with a cattle prod, and looked towards the portrait hole.   
  
  
  
"Oh, hello, Harry, Gin." Hermione said a little apprehensively, obviously trying to gauge if they'd seen anything.  
  
  
  
"Hello." Ginny said, still smiling.  
  
  
  
"What have you two been up to?" Harry asked innocently.  
  
  
  
"Nothing! It's time for dinner, right?" Ron said, stumbling over his words nervously.  
  
  
  
"I think so. You sure you two are all right?" Harry looked at them, trying very hard not to laugh. Ron's ears were bright red and Hermione was obstinately looking anywhere but at Ron.  
  
  
  
"We're fine, Harry. Is there a reason we shouldn't be? I was just…just helping Ron study for O.W.L.'s." Hermione shrugged innocently, beginning to put her books back in her bag.  
  
  
  
"Oh. Studying, were you? You two make out alright?" Ginny said, still grinning.  
  
  
  
Hermione dropped her book.  
  
  
  
"What?" Ron sputtered.  
  
  
  
"Never mind. Let's go to dinner." Harry said, as Ginny laughed merrily next to him.  
  
  
  
"You know what? You two go ahead. I left my cloak upstairs." Hermione said, shooting Ron a very pointed look.  
  
  
  
"Oh…I'll help you find it." Ron said lamely, following Hermione as she practically ran up the stairs to the girls' dormitories.  
  
  
  
Ginny and Harry burst out laughing the second they left.   
  
  
  
"No one's going to believe this." Ginny said, smiling at Harry as they walked down to dinner.  
  
  
  
"You think we should tell anyone?"  
  
  
  
"Oh, most definitely. Ron and Hermione will never tell anyone unless it was tortured out of them, and I'd hate anyone to have a similar experience to ours without warning." Ginny giggled.  
  
  
  
Harry laughed as well, and they went to sit at the Gryffindor table with Dean, Seamus, Parvati, Lavender, Fred, George, and a few of Ginny's friends.  
  
  
  
"Where's Ron and Hermione?" Lavender asked curiously, taking a bite of her fruit salad daintily.  
  
  
  
Ginny grinned at Harry, silently asking him to explain.  
  
  
  
"Well, this might be a little hard to believe…" Harry began.  
  
  
  
"Oh, let me guess. They finally admitted they're madly in love with each other, and are furiously snogging upstairs?" Fred said, half joking.  
  
  
  
"Pretty much." Ginny shrugged.  
  
  
  
All the Gryffindors listening to this conversation looked up in shock.  
  
  
  
"Seriously? I was kidding." Fred said, looking surprised.  
  
  
  
"Seriously. Me and Harry saw it for ourselves. They told us to go ahead to dinner while they "looked for Hermione's cloak." Ginny put this part in air quotes, rolling her eyes.  
  
  
  
Fred, George, Dean, and Seamus burst out laughing, as Parvati and Lavender's eyes lit up with this new bit of gossip.   
  
  
  
"Tell us everything." Parvati giggled as she leaned forward conspiratorially.  
  
  
  
At that moment however, Ron and Hermione approached the Gryffindor table. Ron's hair was a bit messier than usual, and Hermione's cheeks were flushed slightly pink. She still wasn't wearing her cloak.  
  
  
  
"I thought you went to find Hermione's cloak." Ginny said, grinning.  
  
  
  
Hermione and Ron looked at each other, panicked for a moment.  
  
  
  
"We couldn't find it." Ron said quickly as they both sat down next to Harry.  
  
  
  
Everyone was exchanging silent looks of laughter, as Hermione and Ron got their food.  
  
  
  
"What's wrong with everyone?" Hermione asked, her hand shaking slightly as she cut her steak.  
  
  
  
"Oh, nothing." Seamus said, smiling.  
  
  
  
"Okay." Hermione looked at Harry curiously for an explanation, but he just shrugged and kept eating.   
  
  
  
"Could you pass the butter, Gin?" Ron asked, grabbing a roll.  
  
  
  
"Sure, Ron. Anything else you want? Jam? Marmalade? Hermione?" Ginny said innocently, passing him the butter.  
  
  
  
Hermione choked on her pumpkin juice, and Ron dropped the fork he was holding to his plate with a clatter.  
  
  
  
"W-What did you say, Ginny?" Ron asked, his voice cracking slightly.  
  
  
  
"You heard me." Ginny said, beaming at him.   
  
  
  
"I don't have the slightest idea what you're talking about. Why would I…want Hermione?" Ron said, lying miserably and suddenly finding his dinner plate very interesting.  
  
  
  
"Maybe we should ask her." Fred suggested, as everyone turned to look Hermione who suddenly looked like a deer in headlights.  
  
  
  
"Ask me what?" She shrugged, proving to be a much better liar than Ron.  
  
  
  
"Anything you'd care to share about you and Ron's always confusing but ever- fascinating "relationship"? Any new developments we should know about?" George prompted.  
  
  
  
"N-No." Hermione said, looking at Ron desperately for help.  
  
  
  
"Oh, really?" Harry finally said something, getting tired of them evading everyone. It wasn't like everyone hadn't seen it coming for years.  
  
  
  
"There's nothing going on between us." Ron said with an angry finality.   
  
  
  
The Gryffindors looked at each other with defeat.   
  
  
  
"All right, whatever you say." Fred shook his head.  
  
  
  
Everyone got back to dinner, Ron and Hermione's hearts nearly beating out of their chests.  
  
~*~  
  
  
  
The next few weeks went by rather uneventfully. It was driving Harry crazy. No matter what he did, he couldn't seem to get anything from Ron and Hermione about what had happened between them. They acted completely normal around each other and him. Whenever he would come back from leaving them alone, they would always be studying (at least Hermione was studying) or just talking or something totally unsuspicious.   
  
  
  
Parvati and Lavender had tried to get it out of Hermione when she was getting ready for bed or in her room, but whenever they mentioned Ron, there was absolutely no reaction. They even asked if she'd ever thought about dating him, and Hermione had just innocently shrugged and said, "I don't know. It'd probably be too weird," and gone back to reading.  
  
  
  
If they were pretending there was nothing but friendship between them, they were doing a masterful job.   
  
  
  
ut one night at dinner in the Great Hall, that all changed.   
  
~*~  
  
  
  
Ron sat down next to Harry for dinner one stormy night in mid-winter, looking extremely hacked off.   
  
  
  
"Hey." He said in a rather surly tone, slamming a spoonful of mashed potatoes on his plate. Harry saw Ginny look over at her brother curiously.  
  
  
  
"Hey, Ron. Where's Hermione?" Harry asked, hoping this wouldn't make him angrier.  
  
  
  
"Damned if I know." Ron practically growled, obviously not wanting to talk about this any longer.  
  
  
  
"Oo-kay." Harry raised his eyebrows, starting to eat.  
  
  
  
Suddenly Hermione, and there was no other word for it, stormed into the Great Hall, her eyes a little bloodshot. She looked and saw the only empty seat was next to Ron. This did not seem to make her happy. Slamming her book bag to the ground, she sat down next to him, not saying anything.  
  
  
  
"Hello, Hermione." Ron said, in an obviously sarcastic friendly tone.  
  
  
  
"Ron." She acknowledged him with narrowed eyes.  
  
  
  
"How was your "study session"?" He asked, his voice dripping with derision and something else Harry couldn't quite identify.  
  
  
  
"Don't start, Ron." Hermione cut into her steak a little more vigorously than was necessary.  
  
  
  
"I didn't start this. You did." Ron said, his voice raising a bit. Harry saw Ginny and a few others look over at them curiously.  
  
  
  
"Not here, Ron." Hermione hissed, glaring at him warningly.  
  
  
  
"Why not here? Something you trying to hide?" Ron asked angrily.  
  
  
  
Hermione slammed her knife down on her plate.  
  
  
  
"How many times are we going to have this fight?" Her voice was growing steadily in volume too, and Harry noticed with embarrassment that more and more people were taking notice of them.   
  
  
  
"Guys, maybe you two should go talk about this in private." He offered quietly.  
  
  
  
"No! No, I say we talk about this now!" Ron didn't seem to be looking at anyone or noticing anything but Hermione at the moment, and was almost spitting he was so angry.  
  
  
  
"Fine! FINE! You want to talk, let's talk!" Hermione suddenly got to her feet, picking up her things.  
  
  
  
"FINE!" Ron almost shouted back.   
  
  
  
Hermione looked at him, her eyes filling with frustrated tears.  
  
  
  
"You can't keep doing this, Ron! You can't get like this every time I…"  
  
  
  
"Every time you what, Hermione?" Ron stood up as well.  
  
  
  
"I'm not apologizing to you for anything! I haven't done anything wrong! Why are you acting like this?" Hermione cried.  
  
  
  
"Because I'm in love with you!" Ron shouted back.  
  
**  
  
A/N- Hehe-I'll post the next part tomorrow or maybe later tonight. Just wanted to leave you with a little cliffhanger! What will Hermione say? How will everyone in the Great Hall react to Ron's declaration? You'll see very soon! 


	2. Only a Matter of Time

A/N- Thanks so much for all the positive feedback guys. I am getting SOOO excited about OoTP that my head's about to explode, so here's my last fanfic contribution before it comes out. Oh, and the lyrics at the end are from Crowded House's "Something So Strong." Enjoy!  
  
Something So Strong  
  
The Conclusion  
  
**  
  
"I'm not apologizing to you for anything! I haven't done anything wrong! Why are you acting like this?" Hermione cried.  
  
  
  
"Because I'm in love with you!" Ron shouted back.  
  
  
  
Hermione's eyes went wide with shock. It seemed suddenly that the Great Hall was very quiet. Everyone looked up at the pair of them with shock. Harry felt Ginny grab his hand tightly under the table in anticipation.  
  
  
  
"W-What did you say?" Hermione finally spoke.  
  
  
  
"I said I'm in love with you. I don't care if anybody knows. I'm sick of hiding this from everyone." Ron said, speaking so softly that everyone but Hermione had to strain to hear.   
  
  
  
Everyone who was listening (which was quite a large percentage of the Hogwarts population) watched Hermione expectantly for a reaction. She took a deep breath, never looking away from Ron.  
  
  
  
"I'm sorry for what I said, Ron. I hate fighting with you almost as much as I hate hiding the truth about us. I love you too, Ron Weasley, and I don't care who knows." She kissed him soundly then, to wild applause from most, hoots and hollers from Fred and George, and a grimace of disgust from Draco and most of the Slytherins.  
  
  
  
When they broke apart, Ron and Hermione were grinning madly at each other. They sat back down at the table, looking at Harry somewhat nervously. Harry smiled at them reassuringly.  
  
  
  
"You aren't angry?" Ron asked.  
  
  
  
"I've known for ages. I've just been waiting for you two to get over yourselves and admit it." Harry laughed.  
  
  
  
"So you don't mind?" Hermione smiled, lacing her fingers through Ron's.   
  
  
  
"Of course I don't mind. Just keep the public displays of affection to a minimum, and I'll be fine." Harry smiled back.  
  
  
  
"Deal." Ron shook his hand with his free hand.  
  
  
  
"Congratulations on finally confessing. I've always said you two would be good together." Ginny commented from the other side of the table.  
  
  
  
"You knew, Gin?" Ron looked surprised.  
  
  
  
"MOST of us knew, Ron. You don't just go snogging in the common room and expect no witnesses." Fred rolled his eyes.  
  
  
  
"Witnesses?" Hermione looked appalled.  
  
  
  
Harry and Ginny sheepishly raised their hands.   
  
  
  
"Why didn't you say something?" Ron's ears were turning red again.  
  
  
  
"You two looked a little busy at the moment. Besides, who cares? Now practically the whole school's seen the two of you together. Including Snape and Malfoy." Ginny wrinkled her nose in disgust.  
  
  
  
"Let them look." Ron shrugged, throwing his arm over Hermione's shoulders. She smiled, kissing his cheek.  
  
  
  
"Awww." Parvati smiled, looking at Lavender somewhat triumphantly.  
  
  
  
Harry couldn't help but smile as he returned to his dinner. Something just fit about his two best friends. He was happy for them. He looked over at the Teacher's Table, and smiled to see that Hagrid was wiping his eyes with a handkerchief. Snape looked as if he had just witnessed some horrible train accident, and was thoroughly disgusted. Dumbledore caught Harry's eye, and winked merrily. Harry smiled back, and he finished his dinner in a thoughtful silence, listening to the conversation around him.  
  
  
  
"Mum is going to be so shocked. She always thought you and Harry would be the "sweetest couple." Ron said, laughing.  
  
  
  
"And Ron would get mutinous every time she'd say so." Ginny giggled.  
  
  
  
"Well, now you know why." Ron pointed out.  
  
  
  
"Come on, Ron, I'm a girl. I KNEW why."  
  
  
  
"No, you didn't." Ron argued.  
  
  
  
"I so did!"  
  
  
  
"You never mentioned it to me." Hermione sided with Ron.  
  
  
  
"I knew you'd just deny it." Ginny shrugged.  
  
  
  
"She's probably right." Hermione looked apologetically at her boyfriend, and shivered with happiness when she realized that now she could call him that.  
  
  
  
Ron smiled at her happily.  
  
  
  
"All that matters is that we figured it out in the end." He said.  
  
  
  
"I guess with some things it's only a matter of time." Hermione said thoughtfully.  
  
  
  
"Couldn't resist me for too long, could you?" Ron raised an eyebrow.  
  
  
  
Hermione rolled her eyes, going back to her dinner but secretly smiling.  
  
  
  
Harry watched them. Maybe things between his two best friends wouldn't change THAT much.  
  
~*~  
  
**Love can make you weep  
  
It can make you run for cover  
  
Roots that spread so deep  
  
Bring life to frozen ground  
  
Something so strong  
  
Could carry us away  
  
Something so strong  
  
Could carry us today  
  
Turning in my sleep  
  
Love can leave you cold  
  
The taste of jealousy  
  
Is like a lust for gold  
  
Something so strong  
  
Could carry us away  
  
Something so strong  
  
Could carry us today** 


End file.
